It was pretty super cold early in the morning at Yellowstone National Park, but fortunately this shot required hiking a steep staircase which covers roughly 500 vertical...and I'll tell you what, I warmed right up after that!

This photo was taken in Hayden Valley right after sunrise on a foggy morning. We noticed two bison crossing the Yellowstone River. By the time we got the gear out, this male was just coming out of the water. The angle of the sunrise in combination with fog made for a great silhouette opportunity.

We jumped in the car while the morning was still cool with fog, chilly enough to keep other visitors in their tents and around their campsites. We are photographers and the excitement of a sunrise image is worth more than the coziness of a warm sleeping bag before the sun is up. We headed out of our tent and into the car, ready to (safely) race to our favorite park spots, but in a move that's magic in only the way America's national parks can be, the prettiest view was here, in a "nowhere" spot.

I had been trying to get some good wide shots up close but had stiff competition from the cell phone photographers. While walking on the outer boardwalk away from the chaos I noticed how the backlit sun created silhouettes in the hot spring steam. I chose to create a black and white version to emphasize the people and their movements of being tourists.

A winter visit to Yellowstone. In the morning, we were on the Boardwalk of Main Terraces, Mammoth Hot Spring. Plumes of hot steam were rising in the cold air, waving along with the wind. Like a fairyland in the clouds.

This particular view only lasted a couple minutes. I was waiting on a bridge, over the river, just watching the bison move slowly through the trees. Eventually, he meandered across the field which is when I managed this capture. A couple minutes later he was across the river and in the trees again.